"No one, either (Mark Stevens) or any of the guys, asked if they could get anything off the site," Mr Honeycombe said.

"What they have done is illegally entered the site and have been escorted from the site."

He said if anyone wanted gear from the site, all they had to do was call and ask him, although he added Mr Stevens would have to confirm exactly what gear they were taking, because several companies were involved in scaffolding and had gear on the site. Honeycombes is midway through developing a $17 million apartment complex at its $450 million Central project in Flinders Street.

The site has been locked down since head contractor Walton Construction (Qld) Pty Ltd crashed into administration on October 3, allegedly owing the developer and subcontractors millions of dollars.

Honeycombes has registered an interest in materials on the site under the Personal Property Securities Register.

Mr Stevens said Mr Honeycombe could pay subcontractors owed about $1 million by Walton for work done on the Central project but was choosing not to.

But Mr Honeycombe hit back, saying his development company was owed $4 million and was Walton's second-largest unsecured creditor.

Mr Honeycombe said he would not be bullied into paying Walton's debts and was negotiating with another builder, RCQ, to continue work with the instruction that all existing subcontractors be given the best opportunity to return to the job.